One of the most noticeable changes in Autumn are the leaves. With beautiful hues of yellow, red, orange, green and brown surrounding our homes and schools it is hard not to be amazed by nature at this time of year. The leaves brought about many questions about colors, so we needed to experiment.
First, I read a text to the class called What is a Scientist? We discussed how scientists ask questions, observe, examine, measure, count, and draw conclusions. I explained to the children that each of them is a scientist, curious about the world around them. We then set up a color experiment as a class to see how different colors can mix to make new colors. The students helped me to fill seven glasses with water. We then put red food coloring in one, blue in another and yellow in a third. Plain water glasses were placed between each of these colors. Next, the children helped me to roll paper towels and place them in the cups connecting one glass to the two on its sides to create a circle. We let the water cups and paper towels sit for the weekend and then looked at the results the following week. The children noticed that the colored water had traveled along the paper towels and into the water glasses. When the colors mixed, new colors formed (red-yellow made orange, red-blue made purple and yellow-blue made green). Finally, the children wanted to mix all of the glasses. When we did, they noticed that the water turned black. We learned that black is made up of all the colors mixed together!
Our color explorations did not end there. We tried color mixing in a new way with a mystery color experiment. The children were given cups of vinegar. They were also supplied with two spoons. The spoons contained food coloring with baking soda on top. When the children mixed the baking soda spoon into the vinegar, it turned the vinegar a color and started to bubble up. The students were amazed! Next, the children stirred in their second spoon which contained a different color. They watched the vinegar bubble again, but then the liquid changed into a new color (from red-orange, or blue to purple). The children looked at their new color and made an educated guess as to which colors the spoons contained.
We also read several books about Fall including Hello Autumn, The Little Tree, and When the Leaf Blew In. The children acted out the story of When the Leaf Blew In each playing an animal character.
Our center activities all reflected our Fall theme as well.
Playdoh
Students made playdoh pumpkins using various materials to make the face, stem and vine.
Fine Motor
A favorite activity that practiced fine motor skills was hammering golf tees into pumpkins.
Literacy
Students practiced letter recognition skills by hunting for letters through a black sensory bag and then use dot painters to mark off the letters found.
Art Center
The children painted paper bag pumpkins to add to our pumpkin patch dramatic play area.
Math
Students practiced counting out leaves to match a number on trees.
Games
The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel game allowed students to practice color matching and counting skills as well as turn-taking.
After our trip to Ward's Berry Farm, our apple orchard dramatic play switched to a pumpkin patch. The students acted out many of the roles they observed during the field trip. Students pretended to be farmers, harvesting pumpkins and tractor drivers taking friends to the pumpkin patch on a hayride. They were also cashiers collecting money for pumpkins, hayride tickets and snacks. Snack shop workers took orders on a menu sheet and fulfilled them. Some students were customers. Through this pretend play, the children practiced conversational turn-taking, pre-writing skills, learning the purpose of money, counting and using their imagination to put into practice what they observe in the world around them.
During circle we conducted another science investigation in which the students predicted which Fall items would sink and which items would float in water. They were all amazed that apples and pumpkins float despite their size! The students tried to determine why these large items would float while smaller items, like rocks, sink. We have some amazing scientists in the class!
Our study of Fall and visit to the farm naturally led to curiosity about pumpkins. We first read nonfiction books to learn about the pumpkin life cycle and their different parts. Then we investigated a real pumpkin, labeling its parts and taking a look and feel inside. The children described their observations of both the outside and inside of a pumpkin.
Our Pumpkin STEM challenge was related to the poem, The Five Little Pumpkins. Students were asked to use blocks and popsicle sticks to create a wall that would hold five pumpkins (caps).
Some additional pictures of activities in the class:
